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Power riots: the saga continues:

Citizens, traders protest electricity scarcity ... again

* MMA demo against lack of civic amenities, inflation

Staff Report

KARACHI: Protests against power outages continued Friday, and demonstrations were held in many areas against eight-hour-long load shedding cycles. It has been a week since long spells of load shedding and the resultant riots first began.

The residents of Saddar took to the streets on Friday after a long power breakdown. They burnt tires on Zaibunnisa Street, blocking the traffic for about three hours. Shopkeepers of Zainab Market, Electronic Market, Madina Center and other shopping arcades, joined the protest by shouting slogans against the KESC. The shopkeepers warned that if the KESC did not mend its ways in the next 72 hours, they would continue their protests through a shutter-down strike. A heavy contingent of the police, from the Frere and Preedy police stations, tried to calm the protestors. After lengthy negotiations, the protestors agreed to disperse.

Electricity was cut off, for six to eight hours, in B-1 Area Liaqatabad, Nazimabad no.3, Federal B. Area Block-2 and Khokrapar Block 2, and from Friday noon to late night, in Gulshan-e-Amin, Sohrab Goth, Federal B. Area (Blocks 17 and 18) and other areas of the city. These areas remained tense due to the power outage but no violence was reported till the filing of this report.

A demonstration was organized after Friday prayers, by the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA), outside the Jamia Masjid Hussainabad, Federal B. Area. The MMA's Dr Mairaj-ul-Huda Siddiqui, condemned the KESC's inability to provide electricity to the people. "People in Karachi are suffering immensely, as on one hand, they are deprived of electricity and on the other, they have to live without water," Siddiqui said.

He demanded an immediate end to the electricity problem by claiming that the residents of Karachi could not take any more of such torture. "If the load shedding is not stopped immediately, the citizens of Karachi will be forced to cut the power supply to the Governor House," he said.

In Lyari, a demonstration was held against the KESC by Pasban. The Pasban president, Ashraf Hussain, said that the increasing load shedding was greatly troubling the residents of Karachi. "People from all walks of life have been affected by the power outages," said Hussain. "The KESC has shown no kindness as it now carries out load shedding in the night as well, thus making everyone live nightmares."

Hussain criticized the government's lack of action in the matter. He demanded the people responsible for the load shedding should be held accountable for their actions and the power outages should be stopped with immediate effect.

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